


soaring, crashing, freely falling

by ClaraBFangirl



Category: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Angel Crowley (Good Omens), Angel Hierarchy, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Pre-Fall (Good Omens), War in Heaven (Good Omens)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 15:02:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20260021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClaraBFangirl/pseuds/ClaraBFangirl
Summary: Aziraphale averts his gaze, a blush growing on his cheeks. "I want to go to Earth," he mumbles, biting his lip harshly. "I want to see all of the beautiful things down there, and I'd like to see them with you."The forest is silent. Samael is too. Then-"G- hu- oh."A promise is made, a heart is broken. Two angels fall at different speeds.





	soaring, crashing, freely falling

**Author's Note:**

> This work is inspired by halcyon1796's beautiful Samael!Crowley x Aziraphale artwork, which everyone should look at for a minimum of 5 minutes, just to get the full picture.
> 
> https://halcyon1796.tumblr.com/post/186608158491/samael-crowley-x-aziraphale
> 
> It kind of got away from me and turned into its own monster at the end, but hopefully y'all enjoy!

"Samael! Oh, Samael, it's wonderful!"

He's spinning in dizzying circles around the drawing room, eyes lighting up in that beautiful blue that Samael wishes he could paint the Galaxy in. They're running the simulation on rainforests at the moment, just to see what the end result will be, iron out all the weak bits of the programming, and they really shouldn't be in here, but all of the other Builders have returned to their nests and Aziraphale looks so happy, so pretty in this light, so what's the harm?

"What parts did you do? Oh, don't tell me. I want to guess," Aziraphale stops trying to take in every inch of the garden at once and focuses instead on an individual leaf, then shakes his head and moves to inspect the next plant. Samael chuckles, watching the soldier flutter about. Why She made an angel as delightfully soft as Aziraphale a Principality of all things, he'll never know, but he's glad at least that he gets moments like these, when the smaller angel sees beautiful things for the first time, overwhelmed with the Grace that flows through his creations, to himself. Maybe that makes him selfish, hoarding all this joy, but he can't bring himself to regret it.

Unfortunately, the night does not last forever, and it won't be him who gets in trouble if they're caught here. Samael may be selfish, but Aziraphale is a good angel, and he won't let the Principality suffer through a punishment he doesn't deserve. Besides, Michael is in charge of Reformation these days (only She knows why, honestly) and Michael's a wanker. Complete prat. He won't give her the satisfaction of getting to Reprimand Aziraphale.

"Aziraphale," he calls, rising to his feet. "it's time to go, Angel."

Aziraphale turns away from the frog that he's been cooing over the past few minutes, smiling at him with those sparkling eyes that make him just weak at the knees.

"Oh, but Samael," he breathes, rushing into his arms despite his protests, curling a plump hand into Samael's robe, "I want to stay here forever."

"You know this isn't real, right?" Samael laughs. "it's just a simulation. They haven't started the real thing yet."

"Then I want to go there."

It seems to shock even him, to say it. His wings bunch up nervously, shoulders going stiff.

"What?"

Aziraphale averts his gaze, a blush growing on his cheeks. "I want to go to Earth," he mumbles, biting his lip harshly. "I want to see all of the beautiful things down there, and I'd like to see them with you."

The forest is silent. Samael is too. Then-

"G- hu- oh."

"Nevermind, dear boy!" Aziraphale drops his hand from his robes, tries to extract himself from Samael's arms. "just- forget I said a thing. How silly of me! To go to Earth with a Power! Ridiculous. Pay me no mind, my dear."

To members of the Host who do not personally know Aziraphale, this would be enough to move onto another topic of conversation. But Samael can hear the quiver in his voice, see the tension in his hands and the tears budding in his eyes. He sees, and he does not let go.

"Aziraphale," he murmurs, cutting off the angel's ramblings, "do you want to go to Earth?"

Aziraphale's breath hitches, the tears threatening to spill over. He nods.

"Oh, thank Her," he says, running a hand through Aziraphale's curls, "I was beginning to worry I'd have to go alone."

Aziraphale blinks, and Samael lets him process and keeps his fingers running through the Principality's hair.

"You're... going to Earth?"

"We. I've got to set everything up down there. Was going to ask you better than this, but then you got sad. Can't have that. What do you say?"

"Oh," Aziraphale breathes, and the tears start to spill. Samael lowers them both down to their knees in the soft simulated grass, and holds him close. He's got his answer.

  
\------

  
"Samael! Oh, Samael, it's terrible!"

He's running through the halls of Heaven, those eyes that inspire nebulae blazing like the stars they are, and Samael is hit with a wave equal parts fear and adoration. He knows what Aziraphale thinks is so terrible, and he knows what Aziraphale must do to whomever is responsible. He knows, also, that Aziraphale is not as strong as he is, just as much as he knows that he will not raise a hand against him. Perhaps it is blasphemous, although at this point his lesser sins hardly matter, but a world without Aziraphale is hardly worth living in, no matter what She can do, and so no harm will come to the Principality by his hand. But-

As Aziraphale reaches him, Samael grabs him by the waist and takes flight, ignoring Aziraphale's confused shouts and not stopping until he deposits the Principality in his nest, landing in front of him and grasping his wrists.

"Samael, what-"

"Listen, Angel. Haven't got much time."

"Time for what?"

"To explain. To apologize. To- I dunno."

Aziraphale stills in Samael's hands, eyes softening. "No," he whispers. "no, Samael, you didn't."

"I'm so sorry, Angel."

"Why? How could y- why her?"

He hadn't expected it to go as far as it did, is the answer. He'd just been hanging about with some of the others when Chamael had come by to speak to Lucifer, and before he knew it the Morningstar had his sister's neck in his hands and was declaring war on God. Azazel had shouted out their war cry in response and suddenly, thousands of angels were charging the unsuspecting Host with violence in their eyes. Marut had grabbed his hand and dragged him into the fray, and Samael had taken the first exit he could find and ran off to look for Aziraphale, desperate to make sure he was safe.

"I don't know," he feels like he doesn't know anything anymore- "I'm sorry, Aziraphale, I didn't know. You have to believe I didn't know."

Aziraphale searches his face for dishonesty, and Samael can hear his heart slowly breaking, but he maintains eye contact, desperate to convince Aziraphale that he would never have, if he'd known. Aziraphale sighs, his jaw set.

"I believe you," he says. "but, then, why did you-"

"I couldn't let you- they're killing each other, Angel, I couldn't let you. And they'd seen me already, they're sure to think I was part of it."

"Oh, Samael," he groans. "you don't think taking me looks more suspicious?"

"Don't care. You're everything."

"I most certainly am not. Besides, once we explain to the council that you were just a bystander I'm sure-"

"The council whose sister I watched die just now?" Samael hisses, and immediately regrets it when Aziraphale winces. "Sorry."

Aziraphale whines, wringing his hands out, scrunches up his face in anguish. "They'll listen. If you explain it to them, they'll listen. They'll understand."

Samael smiles sadly, laces his fingers through Aziraphale's curls. The council will not listen. He knows for certain that Uriel had seen him in the courtyard, and Uriel does not forget. But he has to keep Aziraphale calm or they're both going to fall apart, and if he's a mess he can't protect Aziraphale. So he pulls his Principality close, and waits for the slaughter to end.

\------

  
"Power Samael!"

Ah. So the battle is over.

It's Uriel's voice ringing up into his nest, which tells Samael all he needs to know about who won. Good. Aziraphale will be safer in Heaven than- well, wherever the bad angels go. Speaking of which-

The smaller angel tenses in his arms at the sound of the Seraph's voice, extracts himself partially from Samael's hold in order to grab his cheeks and look him in the eye. "Samael," he whispers. "it's going to be okay. Just explain-"

"Leave your nest and face the Host," booms Gabriel. "you, too, Principality! Come and face the consequences of your betrayal."

Aziraphale pales, blue eyes wide. Even in terror, they're the most beautiful things Samael has ever seen.

"They think I-" Aziraphale chokes. Samael cups his cheek in one hand.

"Promise me something."

Aziraphale leans into his hand. "Anything," he whispers.

"Go to Earth."

He blinks. "What?"

"Promise me you'll go to Earth. You'll see the forests. The real ones," he strokes his thumb over Aziraphale's cheek, trying to memorize every aspect of his face before it's too late. "promise me, Aziraphale!"

Aziraphale latches onto his wrist, pulling him closer, whispers "I promise," with wide eyes.

"Good. I'm sorry."

He grabs Aziraphale by the waist again, and launches out of the nest.

\-------

An angel and a demon stand upon the wall of Eden, watching Man and Woman stumble through the dark. The angel doesn't know why he begged for this assignment, but the garden felt like it was calling to him, and Haniel had finally relented. The demon is just glad to be out of the Pits. If they had any sense they wouldn't even look at one another, but Crawley's already decided he doesn't much like following orders and Aziraphale has always been considered a rather daft angel- the only member of the Heavenly Host to be taken hostage by a Fallen because he had been convinced a demon meant him no harm.

Oh, but Crawley thinks he might just remember having a hand in the stars when he sees the angel's eyes, and something about the way the demon's lips curl around his name reminds Aziraphale of a nest that isn't his and a forest that hasn't yet grown.

After the storm, an angel and a demon sit on the damp wall surrounding Eden and wonder why the other feels so much like home.

And together they fall.


End file.
